"All of these victims came from several different companies, all around Japan." Light clicked through a few pages, showing that his claim was, in fact, true. "Every company except one." The next page was a graph, showing the monthly incomes of the largest businesses in Japan. L didn't even have to look at the minute details to know that the boy was definitely on to something.

There were five companies shown, and four of them steadily declined, while one increased at nearly the same rate.

Yotsuba.

L knew little to nothing about the establishment; business was not one of the detective's areas of expertise, and all of the companies seemed to blend together, never catching his eye. Until now, of course. It was obvious that the third Kira (third, because he was 82 percent sure that Light Yagami and Misa Amane were the first and second) worked in some level of Yotsuba.

It was finally a lead.

"Which company is it?" Matsuda asked, sounding rather impatient, but eager at the same time. He could tell that the whole room was buzzing with the same kind of anticipation; it was in the air, in his bones.

While subtly pressing his wrist into his arm rest, as to not lose focus, he said, "Yotsuba. The third Kira is somewhere in Yotsuba."

"Third?" For the first time that day, it was Mogi speaking. He had been simply sitting and observing, from what L had seen, and he was almost surprised at the man's participation.

Nevertheless, he spun his chair around, his thumb still positioned halfway in his mouth. "Yes…third. I am fairly certain that Light and Miss Amane are the first and second…which would make this new Kira the third."

Light huffed from beside him, though L didn't turn to look. Hearing the words I'm not Kira would not be necessary at this point; he'd heard them so many times that he could recall the pitch and inflection that Light used when saying them.

Soichiro also seemed fairly displeased, if the glare he was giving the detective was any indicator.

Actually, all of them seemed at least slightly disgruntled. As if they all thought that Light was a saint that could do no wrong.

Why couldn't they see?

L turned back around, bringing himself face to face with the graph once again. He wondered if anyone else had noticed this new trend. Probably a few people, but it was unlikely that anyone would notice any correlation between Yotsuba and Kira.

Near probably would have. Mello as well.

And L should have. It was painfully obvious now that he was not at full brain capacity. Not fully focused. The thought made him want to reopen all of his wounds, to force his mind to cooperate.

But he couldn't do that now. Not yet.

He suddenly found himself wishing for the day to be over, even though it had just begun.

"Ryuzaki," Soichiro said gruffly, and L could hear his heavy footsteps as he walked across the room. "What should our next course of action be?"

The detective, not turning around, moved himself back over to his computer, immediately searching for Yotsuba's main website, and a list of notable employees. "Well…I would suggest researching the company as extensively as possible…we need to try and figure out who might be Kira…"

"Maybe one of us should go in and investigate!" L glanced over at Matsuda, who was looking even more excited than before, very nearly bouncing in his seat. "Like a spy of some sort?"

L opened his mouth, about to say some very choice words about how that was not a good idea, but Light started speaking before he could. "No, Matsuda, I don't think that's the best idea. In my opinion, we should keep our investigation as low profile as possible, so Kira doesn't figure out that we're onto him. Wouldn't you agree, Ryuzaki?"

All eyes slid over to him, and for a second, L considered disagreeing just to be stubborn. But, Light was right (of course he was right), and he ended up muttering, "Yes, I do agree, Light-kun," as he turned back to his computer.

He didn't have to see Light's smirk to know it was there.

The rest of the day was nearly silent, everybody diligently focused on their research. It didn't have quite the same elation as the previous night's almost lead had, but it was infinitely better than the frustrated hopelessness that had plagued them the past few weeks. The calm atmosphere was helping L; the pressure on his brain wasn't quite as bad. He could actually think, focus, make progress. Keep his even keeled appearance in check.

Around midnight, the silence was replaced with yawns and the sounds of creaking chairs. About an hour after that, the team started clearing out, and soon, only L and Light were left. (Soichiro Yagami had, naturally, offered to take his son home, but for some reason the boy had declined.)

Despite the effectiveness of the calm environment, the detective was still itching to get to his room, to simultaneously chastise and improve himself with the sharp edge of a blade.

But Light was still there, sitting a few feet away from him, back straight with perfect posture. Even if he was tired, L doubted that he'd show any evidence of it. He was a perfectionist, almost compulsively so, and he was very highly concerned with his outward appearance.

If L had to concentrate on making himself look perfect, he would've truly lost his mind a long time ago.

Looking back at his computer, his eyes scanned over the page he was last looking at.

Kyosuke Higuchi.

He was the head of Technology Development at Yotsuba. He was high up in the company food chain, definitely, but there was room for improvement. For a promotion. He could be Kira, just like everyone at Yotsuba could be…

"Ryuzaki."

L glanced over at Light, to see that he was now facing him, posture still impeccable, but his whole demeanor seeming more relaxed. Maybe he was going to leave. Leave so L could make his way up into his room, into his bathroom, so he could reach behind the toilet and –

"Yes, Light-kun?" L looked back at his computer, reading more about Higuchi. He was 32, relatively young to be in such a successful position (although he himself, the greatest detective in the world, was only 24). He had no wife or children, and lived alone. Work seemed to dominate his life, as he often worked overtime, especially on Fridays –

"What happened to your arm?"

L froze, his gaze resting on one word – meeting – and he tried to keep his mind from caving in on itself.

It was just a general inquiry. He had mentioned the injury earlier in the day, after the incident (he'd already come up with a name for the event), and now Light was just asking about it, out of politeness. Out of curiosity for his wellbeing. He didn't know, nobody except Watari knew. There was no possible way for him to know. In his mind, he was picturing a minor injury, a cut or scratch. He was not picturing the reality, the lines and lines of scars, the prolonged abuse, the new, panic induced messiness of the previous night.

Light Yagami knew nothing.

L intended to keep it that way.

He turned back to the boy, who had masked his face in an expression of genuine concern (why would he care about the detective? He'd accused him of being a mass murderer since before they met), and in return plastered uninterested boredom on his face.

"It was truly nothing, like I said before. A…cake mishap. Watari made the mistake of giving me a knife." L forced himself to turn back to his computer, to act like it was truly nothing. But it felt paper thin, his whole façade, and he imagined that his shirt was translucent, that Light could see everything, that he knew –

"That really was a mistake on Watari's part." Light was silent for a few seconds, and L hoped that he would just let it go – "You seemed pretty pained when I touched you, though. Could it be infected?"

L's thumb moved to his mouth, and he tried to turn his irritation into apathy. "You know, Light-kun, showing unnecessary compassion will not make you any less of a suspect."

"Ryuzaki, for the last time," (here it comes), "I'm not Kira. You said it yourself, I'm your friend. Aren't friends allowed to be concerned about each other?"

"Yes. I believe that is the basis of friendship." L turned to look at him again, allowing the littlest amount of frustration into his demeanor. "You, however, are edging on being overly concerned. I am perfectly fine."

"Alright, alright." Light turned back to his computer, correcting his slightly worsening posture, and becoming businesslike again. "I would still recommend using some antiseptic." He paused. "And maybe eat something. You seem to be a little cranky."

L didn't answer him; he simply looked back at his screen, a picture of Higuchi staring back at him, and immersed himself in research.

The detective stared up at his ceiling, sleep not even coming close to him. Both of his arms stung, new wounds created and old ones reopened. But his brain had finally calmed; what had been a violent, crashing storm an hour ago was now a serene, peaceful sea.

Somewhere deep in his mind, a voice told him that it was simply the eye of the hurricane.

He pushed that thought aside and closed his eyes, willing himself to slip into unconsciousness.